


It's a Lonely Life(Death)

by booksandtea15



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Character Death, I love him I really do, M/M, and then they all developed feelings, cause I relate, changkyun is a tired college student, ghost au, minhyuk is a sweetheart who sometimes just doesn't think, so there's gonna be death discussion and stuff, this was supposed to be funny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-02-24 00:43:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13202052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booksandtea15/pseuds/booksandtea15
Summary: Changkyun knew the rent was too good to be true.





	1. Chapter 1

“You realise this place is _super_ fucking haunted, right?”

Changkyun rolled his eyes at his best friend’s antics, “Yes, but have you _seen_ the economy lately? I mean, the rent on this place is _extraordinary._ Like, I might be able to afford eating something other than ramen cup noodles all the time!” Changkyun beamed at Jooheon over the couch they were maneuvering through the front door.

Jooheon raised an eyebrow at Changkyun, huffing as they finally made it through the door, stumbled a few steps, then let the couch drop from their arms with a heavy thump.

“You really should have just moved in with me, bro. This place legit looks like a Scooby Doo episode setting. Like,” Jooheon frowned at the windows, dusty and filled with cobwebs in the corners. “Seriously, dude. My couch is always open for you.”

Changkyun blew his sweaty fringe out of his eyes, wiping his forehead with his arm. “No offense, dude, but living with you and Gunhee? Not gonna happen. Five times was five times too many. Also, come on, there aren’t any ghosts here! I know this place may seem a little run down, and _yes,_ the rent is suspiciously cheap, but it’s actually in a nice neighbourhood, and none of the neighbours have looked at me like they think I’m walking to my death yet, so,” Changkyun shrugged.

“Kyun, I’m pretty sure I saw at _least_ five people side-eye you extremely hard when we pulled up. And then proceed to shake their heads. In a decidedly regretful fashion.”

Changkyun shook his head, smiling, as he walked out to the car to get the last of his possessions. He didn’t have much, after all. Only the couch, a mattress that was already gracing the ancient bedstead in the bedroom, a flat-screen TV that was currently living in Jooheon’s apartment, (because it wasn’t like Changkyun could afford cable anyway), the clothes stuffed into an old sports bag Changkyun was currently hoisting onto his shoulder, and various other odds and ends that had been stuffed into numerous other bags. Oh, and his laptop, of course. It was shitty and falling apart and Changkyun was fairly certain that if he opened it too quickly the screen would come off in his hands, but he literally didn’t think he would survive without it.

He knew Jooheon was only looking out for him, and he had to admit that, as he tilted his head back to look at the house towering above him, it really looked like a house straight out of a horror movie. A cliched, old-fashioned horror movie where ghosts only appeared at midnight when the moon was full and the house was conveniently filled with all sorts of hidden corners and was also, for some reason, always dirty. But, and here Changkyun’s shoulders slumped slightly, he really didn’t have a choice at the moment.

The building he had been staying at, in a one bedroom apartment (closet) that could have been called dismal if one was being generous, had been sold with almost no warning, (something that Changkyun was fairly certain was illegal) and the tenants had been summarily kicked out, leaving Changkyun, at least, with nowhere to go but Jooheon’s couch. Which, for various reasons, he just couldn’t deal with.

He had considered calling his parents for maybe half a second before rational thought caught up with him, reminding him that his parents had taken out loan after loan on his college fees and burdening them with this would just be… it would be the height of selfishness.

So, really, Changkyun thought, squaring his shoulders and walking up to the house, this house was a godsend. Even if it was haunted, or the roof leaked or the pipes made weird noises or whatever the fuck it was that was wrong with it that caused it to be rented so cheaply, Changkyun would embrace moldy ceilings and spirits from the beyond the grave with open arms.

Jooheon, who had booked it out of the house as soon as he realised Changkyun was outside, poked his head in as Changkyun opened his laptop on the decrepit old coffee table, plugging in his speakers.

“Hey, bro, I know I said I would help you get settled and stuff, but, like, Gunhee is trapped on campus and he says the protests are getting violent. I just want to, like....” Jooheon trailed off, his eyebrows pulled up towards his hairline.

Changkyun waved him away, already queuing his favourite songs on iTunes. “It’s fine, go make sure he’s safe. I’ll just…” Changkyun trailed off, eyeing the admittedly gloomy living room he was seated in. “Try to make this look less like a place people were murdered in.”

“Yeah, good luck with that on--” Jooheon broke off suddenly, and Changkyun looked up to see his best friend’s face drain of blood as he stared at something directly behind Changkyun.

Now, the thing was, Changkyun knew Jooheon got scared easily. He knew that to get him nice and properly scared of something, you barely had to try at all. Which was why Changkyun normally didn’t even blink at the things Jooheon shit his pants at, but… well, he wasn’t blind. The house was creepy as shit. And he was trying to make himself feel better by playing his own music, but the way Jooheon was staring over his shoulder like he legit just saw a ghost definitely wasn’t helping.

So, it was with some apprehension that Changkyun slowly turned around, expecting to, at the very _least_ , see some huge spider or something, only to be confronted by… the hallway. Yep, there was the hallway with the three doors leading off from it, the mirror at the end of it that Changkyun was seriously considering taking away, (who needed to stare at themselves each time they walked to their room seriously), and… nothing else.

No spiders, no bugs, no _anything,_ and definitely no ghosts.

Changkyun turned back to Jooheon, one eyebrow raised. “What is it?”

Jooheon blinked rapidly, still not looking away from the spot behind Changkyun. “Um. There was, I thought I saw something…” He trailed off.

“Right.” Changkyun shook his head and smiled slightly at his jumpy friend, before waving him away with one hand. “Aren’t you supposed to go get Gunhee from probably violent protests?”

“ _Right_ .” Jooheon looked ridiculously relieved to be given an out. “Right. I’ll see you later. Um, don’t look in the mirror. Mirrors are scary. And, like, don’t be dumb and go investigate strange noises in your underwear because that’s just asking for trouble--you _know_ how in the horror movies we always scream at people to get away from the noises? So, like don’t be a stupid white person Changkyun, because you’re not and I’d rather you didn’t die and--”

“ _Alright,_ I get it!” Changkyun exclaimed, laughing slightly, the strange tense episode already a fading memory. He was used to this Jooheon, the one that saw ominous shadows around every corner and who took Supernatural _way_ too seriously. “Now, get out of here. You know how dramatic Gun can get when he’s been ‘abandoned’.”

“Okay, okay, yeah, I’m going.” With one last, concerned look over Changkyun’s shoulder, (Changkyun was _not_ going to turn around there was nothing _there,_ for fuck’s sake), Jooheon all but sprinted towards his car, driving off shortly after.

(If he quickly glanced over his shoulder, just to, you know, make sure there really _wasn’t_ anything there, well, that was no one’s business but his own.)

He turned to survey the situation. It was… big, at least. Plenty of space for absolutely no ghosts to be lurking about. There was a nearly impeccable old piano in the living room and two big, dusty couches, pointing towards a fireplace instead of a television, and an old-fashioned dusty chandelier that must be a very nice double complex for spiders.

(When he asked the real estate agent about the various furniture scattered around the house, especially the piano since Changkyun took a few years of lessons in high school and knew for a fact that that piano was a _hell_ of a good one, good enough for the owners to have sold already, in fact, the agent merely smiled and said he wouldn’t know anything about why it wasn’t sold. After that, when he saw the frankly _unbelievable_ rent on the place, he decided to stop asking questions, deciding that even if there was some sort of drug-making operation in the basement, (because, _yes,_ this place had a fucking basement), then he really didn’t care.)

What a shithole.

Changkyun shook his head, put his portable speaker down on the nearest flat surface and started his playlist, already feeling a bit more comfortable in this strange place as the familiar sound of Day6’s I Smile washed over him. This was fine.

\---

“You know, that was really unnecessary.”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes at Kihyun, running his fingers through a sleeping Hoseok’s hair.

“Oh puh- _lease_ . Do you really want me to remind you of that time you literally went all Exorcist on that one family? Like, you have absolutely _zero_ fucking room to judge.”

“Okay, first of all,” Kihyun hissed, bristling, turning to glare at Hyungwon, who looked way too damn comfortable on that couch, “those people were mean as _fuck_ to their cat like, do you really want people like that to live here? Also, wrong reference, it was more like Insidious than anything else.”

Hyungwon hummed. “I still find it funny that people watch horror movies while living in a place like _this._ I mean, are we not making this place scary enough?” Hyungwon asked, actually sounding offended. “And they only forgot to feed their cat like, twice. It wasn’t that big a deal. You’d think you’d be more bothered by this guy,” Hyungwon gestured with one hand towards the current resident of the house as he danced along below them, “butchering the high notes in this song. I know _I_ feel personally offended by those dance moves, so.”

Kihyun looked back at the new tenant, snickering at the kid’s erratic hip movements that looked more like muscle spasms than whatever it was he probably intended.

“He seems harmless enough. Anyway, you heard that real estate agent on the phone that one time, he needed to rent this place. They’re planning to raze it to the ground if he can’t keep a tenant for more than a year.” Hyungwon’s hand tightened in Hoseok’s hair, causing the older to whine slightly before Hyungwon’s hand relaxed, petting Hoseok consolingly. Kihyun sighed. “Look, I’m not any more happy about the fact that we have to be nice than you are, but, like it or not, we need him. He seems harmless enough, at least.”

Right at that moment, the kid let out a rather piercing note, trying to strike the high note in a song and Kihyun flinched back, face pinched, rapidly revising his last statement in his head.

“I like him,” came a decisive voice from behind Kihyun and he turned around to see Minhyuk draped across the back of the couch, giggling slightly each time the kid let out a piercing note or did a particularly inventive dance move.

“You don’t count, Minhyuk. You liked the guy who forgot to feed his _cat._ You obviously have a very skewed people meter.”

“Aw, that’s not fair.” Kihyun felt more than saw Minhyuk pouting behind him. “Namjoon was a sweetheart, he was just really forgetful.”

“Still.”

“His boyfriend was so _pretty_ , though.”

“ _Still_.”

It was silent for a few moments as they watched the few possessions the kid brought with him find their places, leaving the place looking… well. Marginally more lived in. _Marginally._ Kihyun almost ( _almost_ ) would have felt sorry for him if it weren’t for the fact that throughout all of it, he kept butchering songs and that was just _not okay_. Not that he wasn’t slightly grateful; he missed hearing new music regularly. At least the kid would be good for that.

“Are we going to introduce ourselves?” Hyunwoo’s voice grumbled behind Kihyun, and Kihyun had to resist flinching in surprise. Hyunwoo rarely talked to anyone apart from Minhyuk, attached at the hip as those two were. It was surprising to hear him offer even a question, (strongly laced with a suggestion as this one was.)

“Oh, can we? It’s been so long since I’ve talked to anyone that wasn’t you four and, honestly, no offence, but you’re not the best company,” Minhyuk gushed, ignoring Hyungwon’s mock-offended gasp.

“ _You’re_ one to talk. At least you don’t have to put up with the absolute sickening gooeyness of two couples,” Kihyun spat out, not bothering to even _try_ and keep the bitterness out of his voice. Twenty years alone was twenty years too many, and honestly, it was really starting to become a bit much.

There was a silence that bordered on awkward, skirted the edges close enough that Kihyun could feel that familiar restlessness under his skin, a compulsion to say something, _anything_ , if it meant he didn’t have to feel the others gazes on him, pitying to a degree that made Kihyun want to jump out of his skin. Thankfully, it didn’t quite get there before Hyungwon, head tilted, cleared his throat and said, “Either way, we shouldn’t. You all remember the last time we tried to talk to people, right?”

The three people around Hyungwon shivered in recollection, and even Hoseok seemed to feel the tension, frowning and turning his head into Hyungwon’s stomach.

Oh, Kihyun remembered, alright.

It had been, oh, about five years after they died. (For a long while after the fact, Kihyun found it extremely difficult to even think about their death, the panic and fear of that night enough to make his breathing laboured, lungs constricted, even though, technically, he didn’t have lungs and he never had to take a single breath again. As the years passed, Kihyun, and the others, became more comfortable about it, though all of them preferred to steer clear of the topic if they could.) For five years, they steered clear from the humans in their house, none of whom stayed long, even though none of the ghosts tried to scare them away.

They were cautious, not just because they were weak, not used to what they were capable of doing in their new forms, but because they weren’t sure of the rules yet. If there even _were_ rules. Kihyun was sure none of them would ever admit it, but for a long time they kept waiting for someone, something, to show up and just, tell them what they were supposed to do now. What was the point when, after you died, you still hung around?

(Kihyun was still waiting, somewhere deep down he didn’t like thinking about for too long.)

But, either way, five years after the event, Minhyuk, a sociable butterfly even after death, had finally gotten tired of talking to the same four people and reached out to the house’s living inhabitants.

Though the people were shocked at first, it went better than any _one_ of them had been expecting. For a while, things were better. They didn’t have to repeat the same fifty jokes and stories to each other, pretending to laugh long after it had stopped being funny. They had new jokes, new stories, new faces, new personalities.

And then, about a month after initial contact, after they had sort of settled in with one another, even going so far that Minhyuk was now regularly tucking in the couple’s kids, things… went to shit. It had been a normal date night for the couple, and only the second time they had trusted the house’s non-living inhabitants to watch over their children while they were gone. Everything was going fine until the couple returned from their date, slightly drunk and with two other people in tow.

They all retreated to the kids’ room, (both of them asleep already), so as to stay out of the way. This wasn’t the first time the couple had had friends over, and they were always politely asked to make themselves scarce, and they felt safe in assuming this was no different.

Then, however, the woman started calling through the house for Hoseok, (they had struck up a friendship particularly quickly), asking him to go introduce himself to their friends. Hyungwon had told him not to go, even Hyunwoo stepped in and told him he thought this was a bad idea, but, well.

He was Hoseok. He was Hoseok, and he had a big heart, and Kihyun knew he was almost physically incapable of saying no to anybody, even a stranger.

So he went.

The friends… didn’t take it well.

There was lots of shouting and cursing and people being called in to look at the house and honestly, Kihyun didn’t like thinking about that time, about hiding in the tiny crawl-space between the ceiling and the roof because, even though they could all make themselves invisible, they all had the irrational fear that someone would still see them, still shout at them.

The couple moved out. And they never talked to another living inhabitant again, apart from trying to scare them away if they didn’t like them.

“Once was more than enough,” Hyungwon murmured, eyes fixed on Hoseok.

Kihyun swallowed, a painful lump in his throat, and nodded, looking at the two others, both of whom were nodding reluctantly as well. It was settled then. They weren’t going to talk to him.

\---

It’s been two weeks. Two weeks since Changkyun moved into the house and, frankly, if he was being really honest with himself, he was a bit disappointed. Not that he had particularly _wanted_ the house to be haunted. (Well, at least not consciously). He had just thought that, well, it would have been super fucking cool if it _was._ He had even begun constructing scenarios in his head of meeting and befriending a ghost that looked suspiciously like Casper the Friendly Ghost had in that one movie.

(You know, the one that left all pre-pubescent kids feeling slightly weird because, what, had they just been attracted to a cartoon character?) listen, you are girl, and you crushed on this thing

But, the house was, on the whole, disappointingly normal. There were no doors mysteriously standing open when Changkyun was sure he had closed them, (okay, maybe there was that one time, but honestly Changkyun was just as likely to forget to close it himself), no vases moving in the corner of his eye, (he didn’t _have_ vases but that was beside the fucking _point_ ) and just, overall, no strange occurrences that couldn’t be explained away by the fact that the house was very fucking old. Like, if Changkyun got scared every time a floorboard creaked or the pipes groaned in the night, he would’ve been no better than Jooheon. Who has, so far, flatly refused to set foot in the house again.

“ _Jooheon._ Bro. Come on, it’s been fucking _forever_ since we just, fucking, I don’t know, played a game together,” Chankgyun huffed, stretching himself out on his bed, phone clutched to his ear as he watched a supposedly emotional kdrama scene dispassionately.

(He had just finished his shift at the fast-food place he worked at and laying down was vastly preferably to walking around on his aching feet, even if he was still in his grease-smelling and sweaty work clothes.)

“Bro, I told you, that house is haunted. Besides, why don’t you get your butt over here and we can play on _your_ big screen? You know, the one you couldn’t actually afford but have anyway and now won’t even keep in your house?” Jooheon’s voice sounded slightly muffled, the sound of wind whipping around him clear.

“It’s the _principle_ of the thing,” Changkyun insisted, pouting. “You never visit me anymore _and_ I just finished my shift. I can’t be expected to walk anywhere right now. Besides, I don’t have a console and I can’t afford cable. What the fuck am I gonna do with the screen?”

“You, know that’s the exact same thing I asked myself when--”

“Shhh, I have no self-control, you know that. So are you coming over or what?”

Jooheon heaved a sigh on the other end of the phone. “Lemme guess; your scooter is broken, _again,_ and you’re bored, but you’re too lazy to walk.”

“You know, I would be slightly offended at the fact that you didn’t even _try_ to make that a question, but I’m not just because you know me so well.”

“I know. Poor me.”

“ _Bro_ . _Please_ . I’m dying. I’m so bored. Nothing on Netflix is interesting, and I think I’m broken, because I’m _pretty sure_ I was supposed to cry when the main lead died in this drama, but I just laughed because the amount of blood pouring out of him was, quite frankly, ridiculous.”

“...You absolute fucker I said _no spoilers!_ ”

Changkyun winced at the volume of his friend’s voice, pulling the phone away from his ear a bit. “Well, I’m _sorry_ , but _someone_ left me alone to fend for my own entertainment.”

“Don’t you have that assignment due in, like, a week? Like, that really big assignment? That you said was going to kick your ass if you didn’t start at least two weeks before the deadline?” Changkyun could hear the smirk in Jooheon’s voice perfectly, especially since the fucker was _right_ and he knew it.

“ _Jooheon,_ ” Changkyun whined, pushing the thought of the _evil assignment_ to the back of his mind. No one had time for that sort of negativity.

“Listen, I’m really sorry,” Jooheon said, voice clearer as he got out of the wind, slight huffing as Jooheon presumably climbed the stairs to his apartment, “but I do have plans actually. Like, with an actual boyfrie--”

There was the brief sound of a scuffle, giggling, then a different voice over the phone.

“Hey! Changkyun, man, sorry, but Jooheon is kinda preoccupied at the moment and--”

“No no no, stop right there,” Changkyun rushed to say, pushing himself upright and waving his hands in front of him as if he could somehow fend off the words. “I really don’t need to hear whatever is going to come out of your mouth Gunhee, like, no. I’ve heard, and _seen,_ good lord, quite enough, thank you.” Changkyun winced.

There was a pause before Gunhee spoke. “Damn, dude. I was gonna say we have a lunch date but I’m a bit concerned for the state of your dick right about now. Your mind _goes_ places.”

“It’s called a _pre-emptive def_ e _nce_ , okay.”

“Okay, dude,” Gunhee scoffed. “Anyway, try not to burn your house down in boredom or something. Gotta go.”

And, before Changkyun could do anything else, _say_ anything else, there was a beep, and the phone went dead in his hand. Well, fuck. Now what was he supposed to do?

He suppose he really could get started on that essay but… Changkyun’s eyes flickered to his laptop. He _really_ shouldn’t. He has a _lot_ of work to do and doing that would just be, completely irresponsible and wasting his parents’ money and…

He really shouldn’t.

\---

“Fucking _die_ already!” came the frustrated shout from the boy seated in front of his laptop, small, pixelated characters running around on the screen.

“Wasn’t he complaining about that big essay a while ago?” Minhyuk asked, leaning against the doorframe next to Kihyun, tilting his head at the boy.

“I think he’s using video games as a means of projecting his frustrations.”

Minhyuk paused, looking at the smaller boy, smiling.

Kihyun shrugged, “Or procrastinating. Whatever you wanna call it.”

“When do you think his friend will come over again?” Hyungwon said, peeking into the room. “He’s fun.”

“Hyungwon, we do not scare the people.” Hyungwon lifted an eyebrow at Kihyun. “Without reason,” Kihyun relented.

“Well, my reason is that I think it’s fucking hilarious,” Hyungwon smirked, laughing at Kihyun’s scowl deepened.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake that’s no--”

“”That’s it!” The frustrated shout from the boy seated at the desk interrupted the ghost’s bickering and they looked up, surprised, to see the boy exiting the game with vicious jabs to the keyboard, muttering to himself the whole way.

“Fucking hell, it’s on _easy_ that means it’s supposed to be _easy_ , have these people never met anyone who was genuinely terrible at video games, _honestly_.”

Kihyun bit back a giggle as the boy opened a Word document, opened a textbook, traded looking at the book and the monitor for a few seconds, before groaning and laying his head on the open textbook.

“I want to die,” he groaned, before bashing his head against the book a few times.

Watching the boy settle back onto the book, eyes closed, Hyungwon turned to Kihyun, smirking when he saw the grin still playing around his mouth. “He’s quite funny too, admittedly. Wouldn’t it be a shame if something just so happened to,” Hyungwon leaned close, whispering, “scare him away?”

“You know exactly why we can’t do that, so don’t play dumb,” Kihyun deadpanned, not even a little perturbed as Hyungwon pulled a face and Minhyuk moved closer to the boy, cooing about the way he was already snoring slightly on the book.

“I mean, you _say_ that but this is a _prime_ piece of real estate, who _wouldn’t_ want to live he--”

“Hyungwon, for the last time, we can’t keep chasing perfectly good tenants away you _know_ that--”

Bickering, the two exited the room, not noticing the way Minhyuk was hovering over the boy, hands fluttering above his head.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Minhyuk murmured, hesitating before placing his hand lightly, lightly, on the boy’s head, concentrating so that the weight of his hand was just barely corporeal enough to actually touch, to actually _feel_ the hair against his palm. The boy murmured, shifting slightly. Minhyuk tensed, ready to pull away at the slightest provocation, but after a moment the boy settled back onto his book.

Minhyuk waited a few more seconds before he smiled softly, hand gently petting the boy’s head. College students. They never change. Always ready to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. He giggled slightly, indulging himself in a few more seconds of petting his hair before he dropped his hand.

He knew he shouldn’t get too close. It just… got hard sometimes. It was easier when there were children. Parents barely blinked an eye at an imaginary friend showing up every now and again. Children were also much nicer than adults, most of the time.

Sighing, Minhyuk stepped completely away, going off in search of Hyunwoo. He shouldn’t indulge himself.

And, if he just so happened to make a cup of coffee, placing it next to the kid for when he woke up, well, no one had to know. He was pretty sure the kid wouldn’t think much of it either. Minhyuk had been watching the kid and the rate at which the kid forgot about beverages and food after literally _just_ making them was… alarming to say the least.

So, yeah, Minhyuk wasn’t worried. Too much.

\---

Changkyun would be the first to admit that he wasn’t, exactly, the most observant of people. In fact, he had failed to notice, for three whole months, that Gunhee and Jooheon were dating, purely due to the fact that, well, their behaviour didn’t really change, did it? They still cuddled and spent an inordinate amount of time together. When Changkyun thought about it later, he would admit that they might have been going out more often than they normally did and spending more time in Jooheon’s room…

Anyway, the fact of the matter remained that Changkyun was not extremely observant. Which was why, initially, he didn’t think much of the things happening around him.

A coffee appearing at his side every now and again, when he could’ve sworn he hadn’t made any for at _least_ five hours, (and the coffee was always at least luke-warm), could mostly be explained away. After all, it wasn’t unheard of for Changkyun to forget about beverages.

But, there was also that one time he came home to find his computer on and running, the starting screen for Dragon Age Origins staring back at him. (Which, he was almost entirely 100% sure, he had not been playing any time in the last three months). And then there was the time he had studied until the early hours of the morning, finally stopping when his growling stomach interrupted him and then dragging himself into the kitchen to look for something that would take zero (0) time to make. Only to find, sitting on the counter, a freshly made peanut butter sandwich. (That time Changkyun knew for a _fact_ that he hadn’t left his room in five hours).

So, yeah. Changkyun may not be the most observant person around. But, even he had to admit things were strange when he walked into his room to find his bed made, something he actually _was_ entirely sure he hadn’t done that morning.

And, yeah, maybe Changkyun wasn’t entirely ready to agree with Jooheon saying his house was haunted, but he had his… suspicions. Mostly unformed thoughts whirring away in the back of his mind, and mostly to do with curiously good-hearted squatters, (who had a penchant for playing on his computer).

Which was why, when he came home to find his computer switched on again, he called out, (about 90% of him not expecting a real answer), “Alright, as much as I appreciate the food and the making of my bed, I really need you to switch off the computer when you’re done. I still have to pay for the electricity, you know.”

Changkyun waited a few moments, but heard nothing. He was just about to advance to the computer, when he heard a slight thump behind him. Jolting, he spun around, stumbling and grabbing onto his desk chair.

There was nothing behind him. Not even a book laying on the floor that could somehow have explained the sound. Changkyun swallowed, shaking his head.

Well, that was a bit odd, but surely nothing that couldn’t be explained away by sound logical--

“Sorry.”

Changkyun froze. That voice had been _right_ behind him. He turned around slowly. There was… nothing behind him.

Okay, that was the wind. Obviously. That was the wind. What else could it be? It wasn’t like Jooheon was _right_ about the house being haunted because that was just ridiculous, Changkyun had been living there for two months and _nothing_ strange had happened. Except for all the strange things that had happened. That was just the squatters. Right?

Slowly, hesitantly, Changkyun cleared his throat.

“Um, hello? Is, is anyone there? I have to warn you, I’m,” Changkyun grabbed a pillow from his bed, “I’m armed.”

A faint sound, almost like a scoff, reached his ears.

“Okay, yeah, it might be a pillow, but I’m _still_ armed. So, so you better watch out, whoever you are. And get out of my house.”

Changkyun waited a few moments, but nothing happened. No voice, no scoff, no sound. Slowly, slowly, _slowly_ , he lowered the pillow, cautiously looking around as he did so.

Okay. That was just the wind. It was just the wind, and some sounds old houses were bound to make, that was all. Nothing unusual. Right. He might ask Jooheon if he wanted to hold a sleepover tonight. They hadn’t done that for a while. Right.

Packing after getting off of the phone with Jooheon (“So, you finally realised your house was fucking haunted, did you?”, “No, _god,_ I just miss my best friend, is that really so hard to believe?”, “ _Sure_ ”), Changkyun had to restrain himself from whipping around to look over his shoulder every five seconds.

It had _just_ been the wind. Old houses were notorious for like, wind-related sounds. And stuff.

And if there _was_ no wind that day and the sky was suspiciously sunny and still, well, whatever.

\---

Watching the kid, Changkyun, disappear down the street on his scooter, Kihyun sighed, shoulders slumping, before aiming a withering glare at a cowering Minhyuk.

“I thought we agreed we weren’t going to reveal ourselves to him?” Kihyun demanded, sure that he would be flushed with anger right about then if it weren’t for the fact that he didn’t have veins. Or blood. Or a heart.

“I didn’t actually _reveal_ myself to him, per se, I just helped him a bit and--”

Minhyuk cut off when he looked up to see Kihyun’s withering glare on him. Hyunwoo, leaned against the wall a few paces from Minhyuk, frowned at Kihyun and stepped forward to place a hand on Minhyuk’s shoulder.

“Obviously he was wrong to do as he did, but he didn’t _actually_ reveal himself to Changkyun. The kid thought it was the wind, it’s fine. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

Sniffling, Minhyuk glanced up at Kihyun through his fringe, spectral tears glistening on his cheeks. Kihyun wasn’t fooled. That might still work on Hyunwoo, but Kihyun knew Minhyuk’s tricks too well to feel anything other than irritation, irritation that only grew when he said, in a sniffling voice, “I’m _lonely,_ Kihyunnie.”

And, really, Kihyun should have expected this from Minhyuk. He was always the most sociable, the one with the least forethought for the consequences of his actions. It was his fault they were all in this situation in the first place. (Something Hyunwoo would literally murder them for bringing up. Well, something like that, anyway.) But, as it was, Kihyun didn’t care, right at that moment, that Minhyuk was simply being himself, i.e. only thinking of himself.

“Excuse me,” Kihyun said, voice icy, “but you’re lonely? _You’re_ lonely? You have Hyunwoo, you’ve always had Hyunwoo, and you have the fucking _gall_ to say you’re _lonely_?”

Minhyuk looked stricken, tear-stained face looking pleadingly up at Kihyun.

“Kihyunnie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean--”

“Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it. You never mean anything. You didn’t mean to _befriend_ all those kids, you didn’t mean to scare Changkyun enough that he didn’t want to sleep in his own house anymore, and you didn’t mean to kill--” Kihyun broke off, staring resolutely out the window.

Distantly, he realised that, if he were the one observing this scene, he would’ve laughed. Outside it was sunny, warm, blue skies with not a cloud in sight. A perfect summer day. Inside, Kihyun’s anger had made the temperature of the room drop sharply and a tearful Minhyuk was shivering while staring mournfully at him. (Kihyun had never understood why Minhyuk chose to feel temperatures. It was one of the few perks of being a ghost, in Kihyun’s opinions. You were never too cold, and you were never too warm.)

Everything and everyone was silent, even Hyunwoo, his grave eyes fixed on Kihyun, as Kihyun took deep breaths he didn’t need to calm a racing heart he didn’t have.

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t _fair_ , and Kihyun wasn’t allowed to bring up how extremely _not fair_ it was, because then he was being a self-pitying sod. But it wasn’t, it just wasn’t _fair_ and Kihyun felt the thick, choking sense of unjustness, of hatred, towards himself and his fellow ghosts, crawl up his throat, thick and dark and heavy, so heavy--

“Kihyun.”

Hyunwoo’s voice was like a hand lifting Kihyun out of the darkness, and he gasped as his eyes flew open (when had he closed them?), blinking at Hyunwoo.

“Kihyun, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean--” Minhyuk started.

“What’s going on here?” Hoseok stepped into the room, Hyungwon behind him, frowning as he saw Minhyuk’s face and Kihyun’s scowl.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” Kihyun spit out, the momentary calmness he had felt when Hyunwoo spoke to him already gone. Now, well, now he just wanted to be alone. “Excuse me.”

With that, Kihyun disappeared, appearing again a second later in the backyard, perching on the porch roof.

That got out of hand.

It wasn’t, exactly, like he blamed Minhyuk for what had happened. Well, not anymore, at least. That chapter of his life (or death, whichever way you chose to look at it), was over and done with, and there was nothing Minhyuk could do about it.

But to have to the gall, the absolute _nerve_ to say he was lonely? When he had someone with him literally forever? While Kihyun had… nothing. He had nothing. Minhyuk has Hyunwoo, Hyungwon has Hoseok and Kihyun had… nothing.

He had nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

It was almost dark the next day before Changkyun showed up again, the door slamming shut announcing his entrance to its various inhabitants.

“Um, hello? Anyone there? If you’re squatting here, I would just like to know so that I’m not like, scared out of my mind the next time you try to make me coffee or something.” Kihyun blinked himself into living room, watching curiously as the kid swallowed, hands clenched at his sides. “If you’re um, oh, fucking hell this is so stupid I feel like an idiot, but like, if you’re a ghost, or something, would you, like, please show yourself? I won’t, like, hurt you?”

Kihyun almost scoffed. As if he could actually  _ hurt  _ them. Expose them and possibly get their home destroyed, yes. Physically hurt them; no. He felt the strange pull beside him a second before Hyungwon, followed by a sheepish Minhyuk, appeared next to him, cocking his head at Kihyun before glancing at the kid.

“No,” Kihyun said, answering the unspoken question.

“Oh, but come  _ on _ Kihyun,” Hyungwon whined, pulling Hoseok seemingly from thin air to stand beside him. “Hoseok wants to meet him, too.”

Kihyun turned to scowl at Hoseok, receiving a sheepish smile in response.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Kihyun declared, turning back to observe the kid now cautiously inching his way into the house. “We  _ all _ know why we can’t do it, Hoseok and Minhyuk  _ included _ , so it really doesn’t matter what you want and  _ anyway _ , Hyunwoo still agrees with me—“

“Actually, I don’t think it’s such a bad idea.”

Kihyun spluttered, turning around to see Hyunwoo leaning against a wall a few feet away, watching the scene unfold with a calm demeanour.

“What?! That’s not—when did you even  _ get _ here—okay _ no _ that’s a bad idea and none of you are being logical right now—“

Kihyun got cut off as MInhyuk threw himself at Hyunwoo, clinging around his neck and squealing.

“I knew you would see it my way—“

“Well, since this seems to be an unanimous decision—“

“ _ Excuse me _ , I’m standing right here—“

“You know, I  _ did _ say I wanted to meet him but I have to admit Kihyun’s point. We  _ still _ have the house not being destroyed to think about and—“

“Uh, um, hello?”

“Okay, yeah, not now, kid—“

Hyungwon paused abruptly, eyes going wide as he registered the voice that had just spoken, the faces around him bespeaking the same shock.

“Was that...?”

“Yes,” Kihyun answered, eyes just as wide as he stared at Hyungwon, too nervous (scared, petrified, anxious) to turn around and see what they had just done.

“And he saw...”

“Yes.”

“And heard...”

“Yup.”

Slowly, slowly,  _ slowly _ , Kihyun turned to face the kid, the wild insane hope he had still been clutching onto, that they were somehow mistaken, that the kid hadn’t really seen them,  _ heard _ them, that they hadn’t been stupid enough to let their guard drop, dashed into the ground as he saw the kid staring at them. Right at them. Specifically, right at Kihyun and  _ oh god _ , they were so stupid how did they let this get so out of control how in the actual  _ fuck _ did they make themselves perceivable without even realising—

“I- I was  _ joking _ , but, like – oh my  _ god _ , is this actually – this wasn’t supposed to be – you weren’t supposed to be – this is so  _ cool _ !”

And, Kihyun, who had been preparing himself for, for a panic attack, denial, anger, really, just about anything  _ else _ , paused with a hand outstretched to do... something he himself wasn’t even really sure of.

Was he going to try and restrain Changkyun? Console him? Calm him? Either way, whatever his intentions had been, it turned out to be unnecessary as Changkyun stared at them (him)  in wide-eyed wonder, all but vibrating in place.

“All this time, Jooheon was  _ right _ ? Oh my god he’s going to be  _ insufferable  _ when he finds out – “

“You can’t tell your friend about us.” The words were out before Kihyun could stop them, panicky and rushed, and he knew his chest would be tightening up and he would be gasping for breath, if he still needed it, but Changkyun continued as if he hadn’t even heard him.

“Wait, could you see everything I was doing the whole time? Like,  _ everything _ ? Like, even in the shower and – “ Changkyun’s eyes were growing wide and his hands had started fluttering around his midsection, and, really, Kihyun  _ got _ that finding out ghosts were real was a  _ shock _ , but  _ really _ ? Suspecting them of  _ spying _ on the boy was too much and –

“No,” came Hyunwoo’s voice from somewhere behind Kihyun. “We have rules about that, you don’t have to worry about that.” As if to punctuate his statement, as if to drive it home that they all had someone to hold their attention in that way anyway, (everyone except Kihyun, that was, but he wasn’t thinking about that he wasn’t thinking about that that was something he wasn’t thinking about  _ he wasn’t thinking about that _ ), Hyunwoo dropped his arm over Minhyuk’s shoulder, dragging him closer and, next to him, Hoseok grabbed Hyungwon’s hand. Kihyun scowled at them, hyper-aware of the fact that Changkyun, a  _ living human _ , was watching them, watching all the lovey-dovey interactions, watching Kihyun scowl and cross his arms, watching the way he shrunk into himself.

“And where is your...?” Changkyun trailed off, raising an eyebrow at Kihyun.

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” Kihyun snapped, curling further into himself, cursing himself for the reaction even as he did it. It’s not even as if it was something to be  _ embarrassed _ about, it’s not like it was some sort of  _ deficiency _ or whatever.  _ Or _ that he had to be  _ explaining _ himself to a boy that, really, compared to Kihyun and how long he’s been around, was a verifiable  _ infant _ . “You’re not my type.”

“Ignore Kihyunnie,” Minhyuk jumped in, peeling himself away from Hyunwoo, seemingly unable to restrain himself any longer. “He’s just a bitter old man because he was  _ determined _ that you never meet any of us. Which, you haven’t actually, now that I think about it. I’m Minhyuk,” Minhyuk beamed, crowding up close enough that Changkyun shivered and pulled away, though Minhyuk, excited as he was, didn’t seem to notice at all.

“As you probably know by now, the bitter old man crossing his arms and tutting at us is Kihyun. Don’t pay much attention to him, he’s not much fun.” Kihyun spluttered, ready to protest, but before he could even open his mouth, Minhyuk was off again. “The big cuddly teddy bear,” Minhyuk pointed at Hyunwoo, “is Hyunwoo, also my boyfriend. The beautiful tall turtle is Hyungwon, and the man who looks like he could kill you with his arms but who also has the most squishable looking face is Hoseok.”

Kihyun gaped at Minhyuk. Was he just, was he really just giving away all their secrets like this? (Secrets may be a bit of a strong word for their names, but it was a slippery slope from names to what colour underwear they wore and really, Kihyun wasn’t ready for that discussion.)

“Guys, I really don’t think we should – “

“- and we’re really happy to finally meet you and – “

“I  _ really _ think we should talk about – “

“ – I really like that game on your laptop, the one with the dorky romance interest – “

“Guys!”

“ –  _ and then he wouldn’t even kiss me because I was playing a boy!  _ How is that even fair – “

“GUYS!”

A sudden silence followed Kihyun’s outburst, five pairs of eyes staring at him, the expressions in them ranging from everything from shock to censure to a sort of fascinated interest. Kihyun swallowed against a dry throat that was, really, nothing more than a figment of his imagination, (and it says a lot about his imagination that it was able to conjure up a realistic dry throat but however much Kihyun  _ begged _ and  _ tried _ , he couldn’t get it to replicate the taste of ice cream.)

“Kihyun,” Hyunwoo’s voice broke the silence that had descended among them. “Come with me. Minhyuk can... explain the rules.” This was said with a significant glance towards Minhyuk, who withered slightly under Hyunwoo’s stern gaze before brightening up and taking the shell-shocked looking kid’s hand and leading him away, babbling a mile a minute, a gleeful looking Hyungwon and concerned looking Hoseok trailing along behind them. 

Kihyun pursed his lips, before turning on his foot and staring at Hyunwoo with his arms crossed.

“You can’t tell me that was out of line,” he began, already busy preparing around 445 arguments in his head. “Because, although we, somehow, and I honestly don’t know how that happened, since it’s never happened before, somehow let  _ that boy _ see us, that still doesn’t mean that we--”

“We didn’t.”

Kihyun paused, mouth making slightly sputtering noises as he screeched to a halt in his rant.

“We didn’t… what?”

“We didn’t, well, ‘drop our perceivability’, whatever. We didn’t make it possible for Changkyun to see us. I was keeping an eye on it. Kihyun, he shouldn’t have been  _ able _ to see us.”

Kihyun frowned, crossing and uncrossing his arms.

“But, but that shouldn’t be, that shouldn’t be  _ possible _ . I mean, how could a living person… Without our knowledge, without our permission, how could he see us?” Kihyun’s mind was racing, consequences and possibilities flashing through his mind almost too fast to track. Hyunwoo, Hyunwoo has to be mistaken. He  _ has _ to. There was no other possibility. The thought that maybe, that  _ somehow _ , they had been seen without, without allowing it, without  _ knowing  _ about it… No. “Minhyuk, Hyungwon,  _ someone _ , must have let us be visible. Somehow. He can’t have… he  _ couldn’t _ have, Hyunwoo. That’s just, that’s just not  _ possible _ .”

Hyunwoo was watching him with a grave face, mouth stretched into a thin line.

“It wasn’t Minhyuk. And,” he added, holding up a hand to stave of Kihyun’s protest, “And, I’m not just saying that because I love him.”

(Sometimes Kihyun got chills, the uncomfortable kind, about how easy Hyunwoo said he loved Minhyuk. Not that Kihyun doubted him in any way, he knew the big guy  _ did  _ love Minhyuk, he was the only one who had defended him in those early years, after all, but just… the vulnerability of it. The, the plain  _ openness  _ of it, of saying it aloud. It wasn’t something Kihyun had ever understood. Hyungwon’s reluctant, shy kind of love was something he understood much easier.)

Kihyun shook off his chill, straightening his shoulders.

“Hyunwoo, I know you tend to think the best of him, and I’ll admit, he rarely does anything with a malicious heart, but he  _ has _ been known to do some pretty--”

“It wasn’t him.” Hyunwoo’s voice was firm, unshakeable. “And, before you say anything about how ‘biased’ I am, I know it wasn’t him, because the first person Changkyun looked at, the first person he even seemed to  _ notice _ , to  _ hear _ , was you.”

Kihyun gaped, mind blank.

“But… I didn’t. I wouldn’t.” Kihyun stepped closer. Hyunwoo had to understand that he… he  _ wouldn’t _ . “I  _ wouldn’t. _ ”

Hyunwoo nodded.

“I know you wouldn’t.” Hyunwoo took a deep breath, letting it out before continuing. “Which is what makes this even more dangerous.”

It took a second for those words to register for Kihyun, focused as he was on the fact that it couldn’t  _ possibly _ have been him, because, really, he was the most responsible, the most  _ careful _ , and the thought that he had somehow, without even  _ realising  _ it apparently, let his shields fall, let the kid  _ see  _ him, see  _ them _ , was… almost unthinkable.

“What?”

(Not the most eloquent response, Kihyun would admit, but, dammit, things were moving a bit too fast for him at the moment, and if he was still scrambling to catch up, well, he didn’t think he was to blame.)

“He only saw the rest of us after we noticed he saw you, and we dropped our own shields. But I know, don’t worry, I  _ know _ , you wouldn’t drop your shields, by accident or otherwise. Which begs the question, why can he see you? And if it happened to you, can it happen to all of us?”

Hyunwoo was still serious faced, still looking steadily at Kihyun, but… Kihyun saw it. He was fairly sure no one else, excepting Minhyun, would have been able to. That to everyone else, Hyunwoo would have just looked as stoic and serious as always. But, but Kihyun knew what to look for. He had always been painfully aware of the expressions on the faces of the people around him, had always been sensitive to the little tells people rarely paid attention to. He could see the way Hyunwoo’s eyes were just slightly too wide. The way the stance of his legs was too wide, trying to compensate, to support more than there was. He could see the slight tremor in Hyunwoo’s hands. And he knew.

Hyunwoo was afraid.

And if Hyunwoo was afraid, Hyunwoo, who had been the reason they all managed to retain their sanity in that first year after, after their death, then, well, then Kihyun was goddamn terrified.

\---

Changkyun was debating the possibility that he was still dreaming. That he was still on Jooheon’s couch, face squished into a shape that would make excellent blackmail material and drooling on the pillow Gunhee had dubbed his, precisely because he drooled on it each time he stayed over.

In fact, he really almost wished he  _ was _ still asleep. That he had imagined the pale, otherworldly ( _ actually  _ otherworldly, since he turned out the be a ghost and  _ what the fuck even _ ), boy appearing as if by some sort of magic in front of him.

One moment Changkyun was eyeing the cushions on the couch, wondering if any of them would even make a worthwhile projectile if there  _ did _ turn out to be some sort of squatter in his house and they weren’t as friendly as he desperately hoped they would be, and the next his mouth was running on autopilot as his brain came to a stuttering halt, horror movies and ghost stories and Jooheon’s words ( _ “You know this place is super fucking haunted, right?” _ ) flickering through it.

Because, this couldn’t actually be real. Even as one the ghosts (!!!!!), Minhyuk, he said his name was, took his arm, (his hand was curiously firm, firmer and more real than Changkyun had, well, expected was a bit much, since he hadn’t expected  _ any  _ of this, but if he had, he would have at least expected that it would be… cooler? Lighter? Less like a… human?), leading him away, his brain was still restarting, still trying to catch up to the fact that, if he  _ wasn’t _ dreaming (very likely), hallucinating (not unlikely) or completely insane (debatable), there were actual, living (hah), ghosts. In his house. Where he lived.

Five, to be exact.

Five ghosts.

Wow.

Jooheon was  _ going to flip _ .

“--and you really, really can’t tell anyone about us because, you know, that would be uncomfortable for both us and you and the last time--”

Changkyun shook his head, trying to ground himself in what seemed to be his present. He couldn’t just zone out. That wasn’t… there were  _ three ghosts standing around him at that exact moment _ . The only way Changkyun knew they weren’t human, that they weren’t as alive as he himself, (apart from the fact that he had seen them literally appear out of thin air), was the fact that there seemed to be some sort of… halo around them. A glow? A disturbance in the air?

None of those words quite fit the appearance of what they looked like, what made them distinctly  _ not normal _ and  _ definitely not human _ , but there was…  _ something _ about them.

“Wait, what?” His sluggish brain, still caught in a loop of  _ ‘fucking ghosts!!!!!!!!!!!!’ _ , had finally registered the words the fairy-faced ghost, Minhyuk, had been saying to him. (Another reason they all seemed a bit… unreal. They were all just,  _ much _ too pretty. Even the silent, buff, serious-looking one (Hyunwoo?) that had taken the smaller, shrill one (Changkyun was fairly sure that one was named Kihyun) with him had been just… too pretty.) “Why, why can’t I tell anyone? I mean, of course I wouldn’t tell  _ everyone _ , I mean, I doubt they’d even believe me but my friend--”

“No, kid, I don’t think you quite understand,” the tallest one, Hyungwon, a thin-looking guy with such full lips Changkyun had to fight himself a bit to tear his eyes away, stepped forward. “When we say you can’t tell anyone, it means,  _ you can’t tell anyone _ . As in, tell anyone, and we’ll make your life a living hell.” His voice was so pleasant, and he smiled so prettily, that it took a second for those words to really… sink in.

For the first time since all this madness started, Changkyun felt a chill go down his spine. He’d been so focused on the fact that Jooheon had been  _ right _ , that there were actually  _ ghosts _ inhabiting his house, plural, more than one, so focused on how  _ pretty  _ they all were and how  _ unreal _ the whole stupid situation was that… he hadn’t stopped to think about the fact that, well.

They were ghosts. The things people wrote horror stories about, the things that haunted people’s dreams and that had inspired stories such as  _ The Conjuring _ and  _ The Shining _ , stories that left Changkyun shivering and staying up  _ way _ too late, insisting to himself he  _ wasn’t  _ scared even as he curled up in the middle of his bed, making extra sure his feet and arms were well within the confines of his bed and hidden from view, his night-light shining bright and comforting next to him.

Changkyun gaped at Hyungwon, taking an unintended step backwards, suddenly feeling so out of his depth and scared that all he wanted was to run to his mother and beg for protection because this was all too much  _ an actual ghost had just threatened him and-- _

Changkyun didn’t know what sort of facial expression he was wearing (though he would hazard a guess on completely fucking terrified), but it made the boy, no, the  _ ghost _ , who had originally grabbed his arm, tsk and step forward, between him and the tall ghost.

“Hyunwon-ah,” he whined, sounding too cute for a ghost (sounding so much like Jooheon whining for another movie when all Changkyun wanted to do was sleep that another unpleasant shiver slithered its way down Changkyun’s spine.) “Don’t scare the human. We finally have someone to talk to that isn’t each other, full offence, and you’re gonna scare him away?”

Minhyuk put his arms on his hips, facing the very unrepentant looking Hyungwon.

“I was just  _ saying _ , we can’t have people running around telling stories about us and--”

“I thought you  _ wanted _ to meet him, don’t be a hypocrit--”

Hoseok, the burly guy who had so far stayed silent, spoke up.

“Minhyuk, don’t be like that. Of course Hyungwon wanted to meet him, he’s just  _ saying _ , like we all should, that Changkyun  _ really  _ shouldn’t be telling anyone about us and we should  _ all _ ,” Hoseok gives a hard glance at Changkyun’s protector and Minhyuk wilted slightly, leaving Changkyun, who had been attempting to hide behind Minhyuk, a bit more exposed to the smug smile of Hyungwon and concerned frown of Hoseok, “remember that.”

Changkyun swallowed.

“I-- I wouldn’t say anything. I mean, I don’t really, I don’t really understand  _ why _ , because like, it’s  _ Jooheon _ , who’s like an absolute sweetheart and--” he cut himself off as Hyungwon crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Changkyun. “B-but I mean, I won’t say anything you don’t want me to! I’m the soul of discretion, I am. That’s me… um, secret-keeper guy. Aha.”

And, just to top of that  _ ridiculous _ speech (one thing Changkyun really liked about himself was how goddamn  _ eloquent _ he was. Goddammit), his body decided that now would be an  _ excellent  _ time for finger guns. Because like, why the fuck not. Whenever faced with ghosts and the very real possibility of them killing you, what sane person  _ wouldn’t  _ use finger guns.

_ Goddammit. _

However, instead of bursting out laughing and/or deciding that he wasn’t  _ worthy _ of knowing their secret, or whatever, Minhyuk beamed at him, rushing closer to throw his arms around Changkyun, while Changkyun could see that, behind him, Hyungwon and Hoseok were wearing similar little smirks. It was only when Minhyuk let out a muffled yelp as he pressed closer that Changkyun realised he was still holding up his finger guns, both of which had know poked Minhyuk in the stomach. Brilliant.

“Oh, I’m sorry-- I didn’t mean--”

Minhyuk laughed and shook his head, taking a step back.

“Awww, you’re so cute. It’s fine, Changkyun-ah. I have a feeling this is going to be a lot of fun.”

Changkyun didn’t quite know what he was feeling, but as he stared at the three  _ ghosts _ smiling at him, a curious sort of expectancy climbed up his throat. Whatever happened, at least his life wouldn’t be  _ normal _ living with five ghosts, right? And, really, he never liked living alone anyway. Maybe this would be like… having five roommates.

Granted, roommates that could pop up and surprise you at any time, and that didn’t really have their own room or pay rent… Yeah, right. Roommates. This was going to be  _ fine _ .

\---

Things were not  _ fine _ .

Kihyun didn’t care how many time Minhyuk told him that things were, or that Changkyun seemed like a genuinely nice person that actually knew how to play Monopoly the right way (i.e. letting Minhyuk win), and that Hoseok and Changkyun already had tonnes of movie nights planned, things were not  _ fine _ .

It’s not like things were, well,  _ awful _ , but they definitely  _ weren’t  _ fine.

For one, Kihyun no longer had any sort of threat or control over Minhyuk and Hoseok, and he now had to listen to the two of them pore over what seemed like countless recipes (both gotten from Changkyun’s laptop, which the boy seemed not even to lock anymore, seemingly having accepted the fact that Minhyuk could get into anything, and random cooking books laying around the house that, honestly, Kihyun had had no idea they even  _ owned _ ) and roping Kihyun into getting Changkyun to procure ingredients for them so they could make the food.

“Why don’t one of  _ you _ just ask him?” Kihyun asked, cranky from being bothered in his Very Important daily activity of cataloguing the movements of the birds in the backyard. At the moment there were two baby birds learning to fly, and Kihyun was  _ very _ invested in them succeeding, so much so that he had even thought about rushing out to catch one of them if they fell. And being disturbed in such an  _ important _ activity really rubbed him the wrong way.

Minhyuk pouted at him while, beside him, Hoseok was busily paging through a book, pausing every now and then to scribble something down.

“Because,” Minhyuk whined, “it’s supposed to be a surprise. And, if  _ you  _ ask for it, he won’t even  _ think _ to suspect us, as everyone knows you don’t like him and so…” He trailed off, hopeful gaze still fixed on Kihyun.

Kihyun pursed his lips, thought about clarifying the misconception Minhyuk seemed to have that he didn’t  _ like _ Changkyun, but then his eye caught the items on the list being shoved at him, and, really, who  _ wouldn’t _ berate the two about how on fucking  _ earth _ they thought Kihyun was supposed to convince Changkyun to buy  _ a whole entire chicken _ and  _ spinach _ without arousing suspicion.

(Listen, Kihyun had  _ seen _ the kid eat, and he knew vegetables was  _ very _ low on the kid’s priority list. Right above ‘getting enough sleep’, apparently.)

Secondly, apart from just, like, the  _ general disturbances _ in the house that just, wasn’t there before, as no one was trying to hide anymore, the… circumstances that surrounded Changkyun coming to know of them still bothered Kihyun.

Hyunwoo hadn’t tried to talk to him about it again, but Kihyun knew he was worried. Saw it in the slight furrow of his brow every time he looked at Changkyun, saw it in the careful way he treated Kihyun.

And, Kihyun understood, really. How on earth was Hyunwoo  _ supposed _ to handle this, when neither of them even knew what it  _ was _ ?

Kihyun had been testing it out, ensuring his shield was on and just, casually, entering Changkyun’s field of vision. The first time he had tried it, he had seen the kid’s eyes widen and stare at him for a few seconds, before looking away, seemingly intent on the book in front of him. Kihyun would have counted that as conclusive proof, if it weren’t for the fact that, every time he’s done it since, Changkyun completely ignored him.

He would’ve chalked it up to the shield working, but… Changkyun seemed extraordinarily… careful of him. After a week or so, after the initial strangeness of it had worn of, Changkyun had seemed extremely comfortable with everyone… except Kihyun.

Kihyun wasn’t sure if it was because he made the boy nervous or because the boy didn’t  _ like _ him, but he  _ did _ know that it made the results of his little experiments frustratingly inconclusive. He supposed he could make sounds, see if Changkyun reacted to them, but he was curiously reluctant to do that. He… didn’t  _ want  _ to think that his shield didn’t work. That, for some reason, this boy was able to see him just fine with or without it, that, somehow, Kihyun’s shield  _ didn’t work _ .

Every time that thought entered his head, he would feel himself slipping into that dark, hollow, heavy place that scared him so much he imagined he could feel the goosebumps on his skin. So, he didn’t think about it. Instead, he continued with his frustratingly inconsistent experiments, trying to convince himself that his shield work, even as doubt stood strong in his mind.

For all he knew, the shield really  _ did _ work.

(Maybe, if he repeated it enough times, he might even come to believe it himself.)

\---

Changkyun found living with ghosts surprisingly easy. At first, of course, he had been overly conscious of everything he did, everything he said. He had even developed some constipation for a while, so concerned with the fact that  _ someone might be watching him and he’d never know _ .

That, however, had lasted a blessedly short time.

Soon, it became… normal. As normal as it  _ could _ be, anyway. He trusted them not to sneak up on him or, or  _ spy _ on him in his  _ personal time _ , and they trusted him not to tell anyone. Jooheon might be asking a few more questions and looking a bit suspicious when Changkyun stopped asking to come over so much and when Changkyun didn’t look scared of his own house anymore but, overall, Changkyun thought they were getting along well.

Well.

There was one pretty (and oh  _ god _ was he pretty) noticeable exception.

From the start, Changkyun had sensed that Kihyun didn’t want him there. It wasn’t like he really tried to hide it, leaving the room whenever Changkyun showed up, or frowning at him whenever Changkyun chanced to look at him.

(Which might be a bit more than he technically  _ should _ be looking at someone that was deceased, but, sue him. The guy was pretty, and the soft sweater he always wore with the way his hair was always flopping over his eyes, well. It was adorable, is what it was.)

So, Changkyun knew Kihyun didn’t exactly… like him. Or liked that Changkyun knew about any of them. And, Changkyun could have understood that, could have given him his space, taken care to stay out of his way but… somehow he couldn’t seem to do that.

It wasn’t  _ that _ often, not often enough, yet, for Changkyun to be calling anyone out on anything, but. Kihyun kept, sort of,  _ appearing _ wherever Changkyun happened to find himself.

The first time it happened, Changkyun stared at him until Kihyun glanced at him, then quickly looked away and proceeded to focus on the textbook he was supposed to be studying from, not taking anything in until the ghost finally left.

And then it just, kept happening. Whenever Changkyun was alone and busy with something else, Kihyun would show up. Sometimes he would just drift about aimlessly for a while, pacing around from one end of the room to the next, pausing frequently to examine a book on a shelf, or a window or, or sometimes just a piece of floor, it looked like. Sometimes, he came in, took a seat somewhere and… did whatever it was he did. Once, when Changkyun was in his room, sitting at his desk and studying, Kihyun simply came in, ignored him  _ completely _ , and laid down on his bed, closing his eyes, as if resting.

And it’s not as if Changkyun  _ minded _ having Kihyun there while he was obviously busy, seeing as Kihyun was always quiet, sometimes drifting away without Changkyun even  _ noticing _ , but… well. It was strange, is what it was. It was strange and Changkyun didn’t  _ understand _ it and he considered bringing it up with Minhyuk or Hoseok or even Hyungwon, (who they had discovered had a particular affinity for spotting grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in essays and who seemed to enjoy doing it just as much as Changkyun loved having someone fix his mistakes for him), but, something kept him from saying anything. Something that appreciated the quiet peace that came with Kihyun being there, even if he wasn’t really  _ there _ with Changkyun, so to speak.

It wouldn’t even have  _ bothered _ him, not really, if Kihyun talked to him or even  _ acknowledged _ the fact that he existed in front of anyone else, but, he didn’t. He didn’t, and he didn’t seem inclined to do it when they were alone either and, Changkyun didn’t really know what to do about it.

So, it kept on that way for two weeks, three weeks, a month, until, finally, it had been two whole months since everything went down.

They had all settled into a routine by then, of sorts. Minhyuk and Hoseok were the best friends, 9apart from Jooheon), of course, which Changkyun had always wanted, up for any sort of scheme and his rom com movie buddies. Hyungwon was sarcastic and witty and absolutely  _ delighted  _ in scaring Changkyun, and, when he thought no one would notice him, joined Changkyun and Minhyuk and Hoseok for their movie nights, shedding a tear in a corner every now and again. Hyunwoo was a constant, silent presence, although his advice had proven invaluable that one time the front door, somehow, broke off its hinges and Changkyun had despaired, knowing that he had absolutely  _ no _ extra money to call in someone to repair the door and had continued despairing until Hyunwoo had calmly and clearly coached him through repairing the door himself.

And, well, Kihyun remained a mystery.

Changkyun had all but resigned himself to this, to never conversing with this one, extremely pretty, taciturn ghost, when, one night, when he had been slaving over the same essay for about five hours, mind chewing itself into  _ bits _ as his conclusion absolutely fucking  _ refused _ to work and he looked over to see that his coffee, the coffee he had made oh, about four hours ago and promptly forgotten about, was ice-cold.

Groaning, almost sobbing because  _ there was no coffee _ and  _ this just wasn’t fair  _ and  _ dammit why won’t this stupid conclusion just fucking conclude already! _ , he slumped down in his desk chair, rolling his head around until he saw Kihyun curled into a tiny ball on his bed, fingers idly picking at his comforter and, and he just didn’t want to get up and he was so close to the solution to his essay he could  _ taste it _ but he needed coffee and…

“Hyung,” he whined, almost surprised at the hoarseness of his voice as it scraped past his lips, smacking his tongue and swallowing experimentally, surprised to find how extremely  _ dry  _ his mouth was. Kihyun, however, jolted upright, staring at Changkyun with wide eyes, one hand coming up to rest on his chest, as if his heart was beating wildly. (Which was ridiculous, since Changkyun knew for a fact, after somewhat awkwardly asking to listen to both Minhyuk’s and Hyungwon’s chests, (he was  _ curious,  _ okay, sue him) that there was absolutely  _ nothing _ in there.)

“Hyung,” he began again, pouting. “I want coffee. You’re lying on  _ my _ bed, I think you owe me coffee.” To support this terribly flawed argument, Changkyun lifted his cup with one hand, pouting harder. The pout always seemed to work with Hyungwon, at least.

Kihyun took a deep breath, before saying, in a stuttery, shivery voice, “Y-You can  _ see _ me?”

Changkyun frowned, cup drooping in his hand.

“Yes?”

“Oh.”

For a few seconds there was silence, just Kihyun now frowning vehemently at Changkyun while Changkyun watched with a sort of detached dispair how his cup tilted even more, threatening to spill cold coffee everywhere.

“Hyung,  _ please _ ,” Changkyun tried again, too tired and desperate for coffee to care that he was being a brat.

“Oh, right. Coffee.”

With that, Kihyun stood up, came closer and grabbed the cup from Changkyun hand  _ just _ before it tilted enough to spill coffee everywhere. Changkyun smiled his most beautific smile up at the ghost, turning back to his essay with barely another thought to the pretty ghost still standing behind him. He had a conclusion to work on, and coffee on the way.

He could do this.

And, if, after his coffee was delivered, Kihyun simply vanished into thin air, well. That wasn’t going to bother Changkyun until  _ after _ he was done with his essay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaaah this took a long time. I write slowly on my own sorry. But yeah, hoped you enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a funny one-shot but then I realised there was a lot more story to this so congratulations you're getting a chaptered fic lol. Also, ahaha I really tried with the dialogue, and shitty4eyes helped me, but I'm still not really good at dialogue. Apologies.
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